The Message

Isaiah 9:6 (NIVUK)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, 
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

If you’ve been to carol services, you are already familiar with this passage and the way it points forwards to Jesus. At a Christians Against Poverty selection event, this passage was embroidered on banners hanging from the ceiling of the church we were in. I spent a lot of the time while waiting that day, reflecting on these words. As I did, I was reminded of their context in the book of Isaiah, a passage about the people who walked in darkness seeing a great light. 

Isaiah was declaring to the people of Israel that this light was a person, and they began to eagerly await the Messiah who would come to lead them out of darkness and into the light. We have the eternal privilege of knowing that this child was Jesus and we have personally experienced the transition from darkness to light and the joy and freedom that comes with it.

I find these verses such an encouragement to spread the message of love Jesus has for everyone: if Isaiah could do it before Jesus was even born, how much easier we should find it now, the promised Messiah, Jesus, having come to the world and saved us from sin. 

However, we often find it hard to share - there never seems to be the right time, or we don’t know the right words, or it just feels a bit awkward. Thank God that he has already foreseen this and gives us the best possible divine support, his Holy Spirit in us. We need to ask him for help to share his good news. It may still feel a bit awkward at first, but when we start to speak out the truth of this passage, increasingly the sharing becomes a real joy and the outcome can be of eternal significance.

Prayer - Thank you, Lord, for sending your son to save us. Please give us the opportunities and words to share this wonderful news and see more people coming to you.